Totoka River aniruk ✿

kuuguk was the word she recalled for what spread out before her. it had been seven days since she had left the keep; another five, and she must take three days to return to tell cry what she would make of herself. the thought pained her heart greatly, but kukutux saw no reason to stay, not when he had given her none.

a high mound of raised earth near the water would make a fine ulaq for now, she decided, beginning the slow process of excavation and only resting when she was streaked with earth. the sea was close, the ravenwood where the spirit-walker dwelt was at her back, for with him she had come to find an odd kinship. the duck worked quietly, singing a low chant to herself as the sun moved overhead.

Tohka bounded lightly towards the river with a spring in her step. She was drawn not only by the sound of the river, but by the smell of the sea, and she was eager to check out the coast. It would be her first time seeing the ocean since leaving home. When she left, she had gone inland towards the mountains knowing that her pesky brother would quickly find her if she went along the coast as she would have preferred.

She stopped at the river’s edge for a quick drink before gazing into the water, hoping to find some fish for a quick meal. She gazed intently into the water, studying it, but didn’t see anything worth catching. She knew that smaller fish could attract bigger fish, and it was usually just a matter of watching and waiting, and she was about to wade into the cold water when something else caught her attention- a faint voice that sounded like singing. She turned towards the sound, and it seemed to be coming from a mound of earth, and she wondered who or what the voice belonged to. Perhaps a siren? Maybe such a creature swam upriver from the sea and had gotten stuck in the shallow waters?

She didn’t want to invade anyone’s territory, but her curiosity got the best of her, and she cautiously approached the mound to investigate. “Someone there?” she called out. Her voice was loud enough to be heard over the river and the singing of the other, but still soft enough to be non-threatening. She faced the mound with her ears perked in curiosity and her tail hanging loosely behind her. She was relaxed, but always ready to run, just in case it was necessary.

thank you for joining! <3

it was a relief to know she would not be going back to the keep, though in many ways she missed it very much. with summer beginning in a handful of moons, the girl would not be plagued by cold, and keeping close to the sea would allow kukutux to utilize the knowledge she had known her entire life. and so she worked tirelessly, her voice rising from time to time on a note, carried toward the sea by a breeze.

the sound of another's voice startled the duck; she paused in the half-dug mound of the ulaq. it had been distinctly female, and so the spirit-walker had not come upon her again. tentatively she moved toward the entrance, meeting the inquisitive amber gaze of a black she-wolf. 

"i greet you," kukutux murmured with a dip of her head when she had recovered from her surprise. the next was a lament that she had nothing to offer the stranger, for she had not settled upon the rivermouth long enough to lay by her stores.

The owner of the singing voice appeared, and to Tohka’s surprise, she saw that it was not a siren, nor any other sea creature, but a wolf with what seemed to be a light-colored coat beneath a layer of dirt. “Oh, hi!” she said with a hint of surprise. She quickly realized that the wolf was probably digging a den a den and may have had a claim on the territory. Nevertheless, she seemed friendly and offered a polite greeting. “I hope I’m not intruding,” she said softly, “I just heard your singing and… well, I guess I got curious.”

She offered a wag of her tail but fidgeted a bit and focused her gaze on the river. After a moment, she turned back to her and added, “I assume you’re digging a den. Maybe I could help? Or I can move along if you prefer? I don’t want to intrude, and I was just passing through anyway.” She didn’t want to leave and hoped that by offering to help she could stay and hear more of the singing. Or better yet, she might be able to get her to tell her about her songs. Or perhaps this wolf really was a siren and had already lured her into a trap, but she guessed she wouldn’t mind that either. “My name’s Tohka, by the way,” she added.

kukutux blinked, but a smile swam to light her face. "you have not disturbed me, and i would welcome your help." still pleasantly taken off-guard, the duck emerged more fully from the half-finished ulaq and turned to stand alongside tokha, regarding it in silence.

"i am kukutux,"  the girl murmured after a heartbeat of time had passed. she enjoyed the sound of the other's name — it reminded her of music. "and i have never built one of these before," came her sheepish admission. the friendliness with which tokha had greeted her was infectious, it seemed, and she felt her consternation slipping quickly away.

“Pleased to meet you, Kukutux,” Tohka said with a gentle wag her tail, pleased that the other did not turn her away and instead introduced herself and accepted her offer of help. “I've never made one either,” she admitted, “but it’s mostly just digging, right? I think my family’s den had the tunnel kinda go uphill, and I think my mother said something about it keeping rainwater out. Other than that, I’m not really sure.” She took a few steps towards the opening and said, “Just tell me where you’d like me to dig and I’ll help dig.”

She looked across the river, then back to Kukutux, then back to the hill and the den. She focused on the entrance to the den when she asked her next question. “I was wondering, I heard your singing before I approached, and I really liked the sound of it. I was hoping maybe you would be willing to tell me about your songs, that is if it’s not too personal.” She had no desire to invade her privacy or otherwise embarrass her. She was simply interested in her music and couldn’t help wondering what kind of meaning it might hold for her.

tokha was inquisitive, gentle, full of questions and polite expressions. kukutux liked her more and more as they spoke, and the words begin to bubble out of her own throat. "here is good," the duck murmured, indicating the base of the mound. "this is an ulaq. or, it will be, once we are done," she murmured, shooting a glance at her companion.

at the mention of the song, a bittersweet expression laced kukutux' features. "a digging song. i learned it when i was a child." part nonsense, part chant, it warded away evil spirits and invited kinder ones to help the workers. the sound was one of the few things still tethering kukutux to the ones who had gone on. "where did you come from?"

Tohka eagerly began to dig at the spot at the base of the mound that Kukutux pointed out, flinging dirt into the air behind her as she did. She quickly noticed that digging was harder work than she thought it would be, but that was all the more reason to help. “Ulaq?” She tilted her head in curiosity. “I always called it a den, or is it different from a den?”

Tohka noticed the change in the other’s expression when she asked about the song, making her suspect that the question made her sad. She tried to reign in her curiosity, not wanting to upset her. She answered Kukutux’s next question instead. “I’m from along the coast. I kinda left home ‘cause I wanted to get out and see the world for myself. I have to admit it’s kinda lonely, but I do like my freedom.” She resumed digging and her mind wandered back to her own childhood, and eventually she had to speak again. “My momma used to sing lullabies when I was a pup, and my uncle used to tell stories. My dad thought both were just a waste of time, but I always liked them.” She gave a hopeful wag of her tail as she asked, “You wouldn’t want to teach me your digging song, would you?”

small teeth shone in a bright smile. "it is a den. what makes it different is that in my village, each family had their own ulaq," kukutux explained. "there were eight ulax when i was a child, nine to count the one where we brought our dead." she dug alongside tokha, excavating the dome more clearly.

"when a man married away from his family, he paid her father a bride-price, and built an ulaq for his new wife. there they raised their children. and pups," kukutux added, flushed with the deep pleasure of speaking about her people to another, "could wander between each ulaq, and be fed at every one."

some part of the little duck wanted to invite tokha to stay with her upon the tributary, for what was the point in loneliness? but she was afraid it would be seen as rudeness, and besides, she had no store of meat to offer the other. "it is only hard, the song, because some of the words have no meaning in the common speak. but it is something like — 'river, stream, rain, and stone, let me not stray far from home. evil spirits stay away, in the sunshine i will stay.'"

another beam toward the other girl. "what is a lullaby?"

Tohka continued digging, careful not to throw any dirt onto her new friend, and not really noticing that she was getting herself dirty, though it was much less obvious on her darker coat. She kept her ears perked and gave an occasional nod to let the other know she was listening. She tried to visualize a collection of dens with different wolves living in them and tried to imagine how it would have been as a pup to go from one to another and get fed at each one.

She also like the song. It seemed simple, clear, and comforting, although she suspected it might have had more meaning that was lost in translation, but that couldn’t be helped. Then, to her surprise, came the question, What is a lullaby? She paused her digging to gather her thoughts before answering. “It’s a kind of song that’s supposed to be soft and soothing. They’re usually pretty simple, and sometimes silly. Momma used to sing them to help me and my sister and brothers fall asleep when we were pups. Actually, the song you just taught me could easily be one. There was one that my momma used to sing while I stared into the sky at night.”

She cleared her throat and sang in her softest voice,
“Twinkle twinkle little star
How I wonder what you are
Up above the world so high
Like a diamond in the sky
Twinkle twinkle little star
How I wonder what you are.”

She resumed digging as she said, “It’s kinda silly, but whenever Momma sang like that, it would help me sleep.”

she had stopped digging as tokha's voice rose, eyes glimmering with the pleasure of the unfamiliar words and their sweet cadence. "ah!" the duck exclaimed when her companion had finished, plume waving excitedly. "that is not silly at all!" it was truly a song for children, and she adored the talk of gleaming stars in the sky, how it had been woven into a song. 

"i do not think i know a song about stars," kukutux mused. "perhaps we will have to make one up." she decided to pause truly now, motioning tokha to do the same, and moving down toward the running water some ways from her denmouth. "i wish i had food to offer you," the duck murmured ashamedly, glancing sideways.

Tohka’s eyes lit up when she saw how much Kukutux enjoyed the song. Although it was a simple song that Tohka almost took for-granted, it was something new to the other, and the appreciation that she showed gave Tohka immense satisfaction. It pleased her to see that she was able to simply make someone happy, even if it was only for a short time. She smiled and wagged her tail at the other’s suggestion of making up their own song about stars. “I like that idea,” she said. “That might be fun.” It certainly wasn’t something her boring family would want to do.

Tohka followed Kukutux from the den to the water, curious as to what she was doing. When she mentioned food, Tohka said, “You don’t owe me anything, but I’m sure we could catch something if you wanted to.” Of course she would have liked some food, but making a friend and sharing songs with someone who appreciated them was more than enough to make her happy.

fade here? not sure what your plans are with tokha but i love them tgt and would like to see them meet again!

kukutux shook her head. "not owe. it is hospitable." leaving off that, she happily nodded in the darker wolfess' direction. "i am not familiar with hunting in rivers," she admitted shyly. perhaps tokha would not see her as a burden, and be willing to teach.

having hunted in the sea many times, kukutux did not think it could be vastly different. shaking soil from her stained fur, she fell into step with tokha, beginning to speak again of this star-song that they could create together.

Sorry for taking so long to reply. I’ve been very busy. I really like Kukutux and would love to see her return.

Tohka happily bounded after Kukutux and wagged her tail as she said, “Well, I very much appreciate your hospitality.” She gave a short, sheepish laugh when the other admitted she wasn’t familiar with hunting in rivers, something Tohka could identify with. “Same here,” she said, “I’ve fished on occasion, but I’ve done most of my hunting on land. Though I sure don’t see any harm in trying.” She giggled when Kukutux shook the dirt out of her fur, then she did the same thing herself before they reached the river to begin fishing for their meal.